#happy pride tenno!

[shad0w-elemental]

everyone in the Origin System deserves love & respect, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity <3

[vipermenace]

Wanted to draw my favorite concept that was in the reject pile. 

Happy Pride Tenno! 🏳️‍🌈

[crimsonxe]

"Just wanted to say happy Pride out there everybody and shoutout to our LGBTQIA2S+ Tenno out there. We're so glad to have you here in Warframe and we hope you had a safe and happy Pride."

-[DE]Danielle on Pride Time #399

They really are just saying fuck the bigots and tripling down on the LGBT+ love xD Love the game and the crew for it.

[edgygayguy]

!!!JADE SHADOWS SPOILERS!!!

I played the quest and it was ok. Felt very polarized by it.

The Warframe baby is a very fucking crazy and unexpected idea, the consequences of turning a pregnant person into a Warframe are really interesting and I want more lore and I want it yesterday. It will probably take like 2 years to get back to that tho. I would be happy with just some relevant codex entries. Also the baby to me looked pretty ugly and idk why I focused so much on that detail, but the piece of cloth stalker held it in was just not it. Like why does it look like he knitted that for the baby in advance. I'd rather have the baby itself be more visually interesting and wrapped in just black.

The quest was way too short, if I wasn't following devstreams I would feel no attachment to Jade at all. She's just there and the only thing we know about her is that she and stalker are in love, had a pregnancy and then got turned into Warframes.

I still have a lot of questions that went unanswered. Did the orokin turn both of them into frames at once or did Stalker get turned after the fall? If so was it voluntary? Why does the stalker hunt the tenno so fiercely? We know now why he hates Warframes but weren't the orokin responsible for turning his love into one? My headcannon is that the conditioning the orokin used on the dax was very effective on him, he couldn't bring himself to hate the golden lords so he began hating the warframes and in turn the tenno. I think he voluntarily turned himself into a Warframe, but how? No idea, maybe he managed to seek out Ballas who decided it was a great idea to create a hunter for the ones hunting him.

We know that some frames didn't get piloted by a tenno, Kullervo, Jade and most likely also Dante. The stalker seems to be the same. These 4 somehow managed to maintain their sanity, unlike most of them. This is the only question the quest answered for me, but not really, it just solidified what we already knew.

I love the inclusion of the sisterhood and the dialogue from Parvos, Ordis and Hunhow.

While browsing through Tumblr I saw two popular opinions I didn't even consider.

The first one is that stalker should have been trans. At first I had no idea if people were serious about it or not. The only evidence I saw brought up is that stalker hates himself and in his dialogue with Hunhow there's some stuff that could be interpreted as trans allegory. The latter I do see on a second read, but the first one is just weird. Is deep self hatred on the level of Stalker really a prerequisite for transness? I'd hope not. People being mad about their headcannon not being realized in this instance is odd to me, yeah it is pride month but there's plenty of transness in Warframe already. Ticker and Sentients (especially Hunhow, a man who constantly reminds you of his womb) are the first things that come to mind. I believe that Warframe is inherently trans and has been since the begging. You control Warframes, you can easily swap between them and they are representations of both sexes (+Xaku and Equinox). After the second dream that gets even more reinforced, "dream not of what you are but of what you want to be". Transness is so prevelent in this game that the stalker not being trans isn't that big of a deal, it's not like all of this game's representation was hinging on this one character.

The second one is that Jade doesn't have autonomy, she's stuck suffering and exists solely to give birth. I believe this wouldn't be a problem to most if we got like 20 minutes of extra time in the quest, Jade herself and even smaller things like our operator's involvement felt rushed. From the flashback we see that Jade wanted the child, if anything the quest advocates for autonomy. They should have shown us more to make it more obvious. It was illegal for Jade and Stalker to love each other because of their caste, let alone have a child. If only the quest took a minute to shit on the orokin instead of hoping everyone does that themselves. While in our world the major issue with women's autonomy isn't "I can't have a baby" but "I'm forced to have a baby", I think that these are both sides of the same coin. The underline still is: a woman was stripped of her autonomy. The message unfortunately wasn't clear enough. Also it doesn't help that this is Tumblr and LGBTQ+ people don't usually have the best relationship with pregnancy. And we live in a world where people are being forced to have babies for literally no reason, so it's pretty logical that the thought of someone literally dying to give birth is very emotionally charged and polarizing.

No hate to people who think that stalker should have been trans (I just don't see it) and to people who think that the quest portrayed women's autonomy in a bad way, while I don't think it's the case the devs should have known better, speeding through such a relevant issue was not a good idea on their part. They should have made it clear that Jade really wanted her child and her autonomy was taken from her by the orokin (it would also have helped if we got more Warframe biology).

[the--silent-hero]

Happy Pride Month!! <3

Small Doodle with your favorite Tenno Bi King Link :D

[geargoyle]

Just a quick shot of my arsenal update. Happy Pride, Tenno!

[riftwalker-limbro]

cephalon classifications

we know that Jordas & Ordis are Series-2 cephalons. Simaris & Suda are much newer. Cy is... i'm gonna guess somewhere in between these two classes. so, we have

Series-1??? Prototype?

Series-2: Orokin-style servant cephalons, with features to avoid the cephalon getting too much of an identity of its own, like mostly talking in the third person.

Railjack Cephalons: capable of first-person speech but obviously still very focused on one specific goal. need certain qualifications for this, according to Cy.

Relay Cephalons: have a fully-fledged personality and personal goals that stretch beyond their digital confinement. The only type of Cephalon whose datascape we've been in. presumably, these were volunteers to be turned cephalon in life, and have as such been allowed to retain all of their memories.

several questions.

what was the prototype cephalon series like?

what are the datascapes of non-relay cephalons like?

are there other cephalon tiers we just never hear about?

headcanons below the cut.

Prototype Cephalons

So the bare minimum requirements for a cephalon is to be smart enough to pilot an Orbiter and serve a Tenno, right? but not smart enough to rebel against the Orokin, or even give the Tenno the idea to.

i propose that the protoype cephalons were even more restricted than we see ordis being - probably like how ordis was with the vitruvian messing him up: completely depersonalised, emotionless. maybe prototype cephalons didn't even have a biological base in the first place but were pure AI. ordis with his mind-spy might've been one of the foundational/prototypical series-2 cephalons.

Datascapes

simaris' datascape is his pride and joy, and it is immense and varied, and several whole ass game mechanics happen inside of it (sanctuary onslaught, the simulacrum). compared to this, suda's datascape as we see it in octavia's anthem is almost barren, just containing the music elements. her goals do not require extensive use of her datascape like simaris' do, so her datascape is likely just for personal hanging out. it's like comparing someone's office-workspace to someone else's bedroom full of cds and a radio that belongs in a museum.

and these are two of the most advanced cephalon we meet. what does this mean for the other tiers? they might not even have datascape functionalities but i don't like that thought so i'm gonna invent something else that does make me happy.

going down tier by tier, i think railjack cephalons would be able to use a datascape for training, with or without their crew. simulating battle scenarios etc. they would need capabilities to host multiple people for these trainings.

but regular series-2 ship cephalons? the bare minimum i think would be to be able to support a 1 person training session. that would fall under the tenno support cephalon needs. maybe if multiple tenno are working together, their ship cephalons are able to work together and build a cooperative datascape to support all of them at once.

Other Cephalon Tiers

Ordis mentions there's barely any Series-2 left that he knows of. Cy mentions that he can't find a suitable railjack cephalon except for himself. We know that in-universe there are more tenno than just you, and presumably, not everyone has an identical Ordis copy. What are the odds that everyone else has a relay-tier cephalon and all of them are perfectly fine steering a ship for a tenno?

I think there is probably a tier in between series 2 and railjack, let's call it series-3, which mostly populates all other ships. if relay tier cephalons were allowed to keep their memories because they were volunteers and not otherwise a danger to the orokin empire, those were probably quite rare, and the orokin likely needed more cephalons than they had volunteers. so they would've likely sourced the biological components from undesirables if they couldn't get volunteers, similar to the warframe program.

so, after the failed series-1 and the prototypal hybrid-source series-2, the orokin perfected the single-tenno servant cephalon in series-3. i'm thinking, personality of polite-orokin-ordis, without the third-person-thing, which would make it less obvious that these cephalons still have a mind-spy-esque thing on them that would prevent rebellion.

[you-shiny-thing]

Hero Blue

It was grand. Ballas had really pulled out all the stops for today. The Grand Hall was decorated in lavish gold that had been polished to a sheen. Leveret could see their own reflection in the golden accents of the stand's railing grimacing back. They tried to quickly fix their expression into a more neutral one, but as if by force, it soon moulded itself back into the frown they had been wearing the whole day. 

No one needed something this garish, and with everybody gathered there as well. Both Tenno and Orokin alike were there, though Leveret noticed that the Tenno seemed to be in their own stand, away from the Orokin. Probably just the organisers wanting the whole thing to look orderly. Leveret looked at the empty stage. Even the stage had been embellished with golden and blue ornaments, and the middle of the stage held an odd slab that had enough gold to leave an afterimage as the lights reflected off of it. 

Soon the crowd's chatter turned into an excited silence, one in which you could feel the expectant smiles of the people, as a triumphant fanfare played and the main characters of the day arrived. From the impossibly tall door arrived Ballas, in his finer robes and his hair pulled back, followed by a smaller figure in a black Zariman suit so familiar to many in attendance. Leveret tugged at theirs, brushing off imaginary dust. The smaller figure had white hair reaching their shoulders, a square face Leveret had been told looked exactly as their father's, and dimples that showed whenever they smiled their bright smile. They had once overheard the other Tenno wondering what they would have to do to get similar dimples. Useless. That was a goal no one could reach if they weren't already gifted with those, like Ray. They would have to settle for idle hoping like the rest who saw Ray. 

"Oh welcome, welcome everyone! It is with great joy that I have summoned you all here today," Ballas' speech began. He was smiling, but somehow Leveret had never felt his smile reached all the way to his eyes. Maybe it was simply a habit of his. Not like Leveret had ever spent much time with him, not long enough to learn about the details of his life. Ray might know, but there was no way Leveret could ask them. 

"The most heroic among you must be rewarded. For their exemplary deeds, which I am certain you all are familiar with," Ballas continued as the blue screens scattered around the hall came to life to show various photos of Ray in action. Ray carrying someone out of danger, Ray shielding a child, Ray standing on top of a defeated Necramech… when were these pictures taken? Leveret was simply happy they did not appear in them as the rescued one. Despite their wish to look away, Leveret could not help but feel the smallest spark of pride in their sibling. Ray had always been more courageous than others, and it showed. It truly, truly showed. 

"For your service to the Orokin, I am pleased to award you the uniform of those whose service should be an example to all." He motioned towards the slab that had been on the stage. It opened, like a casket, and revealed an outfit in cobalt blue. A striking colour compared to the red and black one Ray was wearing. One they all were wearing. The outfit looked sturdy, with beautiful golden accents that reminded Leveret of the room itself, the excessive decorations it had been embellished with for the day. 

"The uniform of Hero Blue. May you wear it with pride, and inspire your fellow Tenno to aim just as high." Ray was practically beaming as they bowed in gratitude. They turned to face the audience, and smiled that winning smile. Leveret couldn't look them in the eyes. 

After the ceremony was over, Leveret stayed behind, anxiously glancing at the door they had seen Ballas exit from a while ago. They twisted and pulled at their low ponytail as they pondered. They wanted to just leave, go home and distract themselves, think about anything else. Play a round of komi, maybe. But they couldn't. They waited, the package in their backpack feeling heavier by the moment. There was no way Ray would like something so shabby, especially after receiving the Hero Blue. Ray deserved something better. Surely even they knew that. And it wasn't even long ago that they had gotten into an argument again, maybe Ray would just leave the moment they saw their face, and- 

Ray was at the doorway. 

Leveret hesitated, but pushed themselves off of the wall they had been leaning to, and slowly walked to Ray. They were still wearing the bright blue uniform, and Leveret's eyes couldn't help but follow the golden decorations. It was easier than looking Ray in the eyes. 

"Levvie! I saw you in the audience!" Ray exclaimed. Leveret nodded, one hand still fiddling with their hair. 

"Yeah. You looked… you looked heroic up there, as usual." The tone came out flatter than they had meant to. "Uhm…" they started. 

"What is it?"

"Well… Okay, it doesn't really match, but, hold on…" Leveret put their backpack on the floor and dug out a soft package wrapped in papers that had been taped together. It was an oddly shaped package with more wrinkles than smooth surfaces from the various folds Leveret had folded and unfolded in search of a shape fitting whatever was in inside. Ray tilted their head. 

"I heard about today in advance - it was hard not to - and thought… I thought, if you're getting the Hero Blue, you could do with a little blue hero." Ray opened the package carefully, trying not to rip the paper despite it already being ruined. As the paper fell to the floor, it revealed a floof. A floof in an off-blue, something that was closer to turquoise than true blue. It looked lopsided, and upon closer inspection one could see that the thread with which it was put together had run out and had been continued with a white thread that didn't match the rest of the floor. But despite it all, it was still clearly a krubie. A krubie with a mark on its forehead that was identical to the one in the Tale of a Tail, where a strong and kind blue krubie travels Duviri, helping others. An offshoot story of Tales of Duviri, one the two had read more times than they could count. One Leveret remembered Ray reading to them at night when they got scared, and one Leveret practiced reading with the help of Ray when they were younger. One they had lost in the Zariman, but had since then found and kept another copy of despite neither of them reading childrens' stories anymore. 

"Levvie…" The unstability in Ray's voice made Leveret look them in the eyes, and notice how they shined with moisture more than usual. Ray's eyebrows were turned up as if to frown, but their eyes seemed happy. Their dimples showed up again as their mouth turned into a smile. 

"It's not much, and it's really not a big deal," Leveret started off quickly, "but… take it, alright?" They offered an awkward half smile. The sloppy floof looked out of place in the arms of Ray in their shining new suit, but Ray was holding the floof like it was the heart of the universe, something immeasurably precious. 

"Thank you, Levvie." Ray pulled them into a sudden hug. Leveret let out a strangled noise of surprise, but soon wrapped their arms around Ray as well. They couldn't help but let their expression soften. 

"You're welcome, Ray. Live up to your Hero Blue. I know you will."

---

Leveret gazed out to the stars, sitting on the floor of their personal quarters. Those days seemed like they happened so long ago and yet like they happened just yesterday. Leveret glanced at the turquoise floof in their hands. It was never in prime condition, but the years had made their mark on it. It was scratched up, and Leveret wasn't even sure what the dark stain on its side was from. All in all it was a shabby thing that they were sure Ordis would've thrown out if it was anyone else's but Leveret's. 

"Mine, huh," they muttered. They remembered seeing the floof on Ray's desk ever since they gave it to them. And they remembered digging it up from the small cache Ray had buried on Plains of Eidolon, along with a letter Leveret kept tightly sealed in a hidden compartment. Read, but only once. But thought of so many more times. 

"You really did live up to that stupid blue, you know?" Their voice felt so small in the empty Orbiter. The floof did not hug them back. 

[orokin-grub]

Happy Pride, Tenno!!

[space-ninja-fashion-show]

your turn. pride. your guys. what do they do.

habits, customs, little details. i want to know All

Okay after half a fuckin month of forgetting about this, here we go

In general my approach to Queer Shit in my worldbuilding here is that the "norm" of cis/het/etc still Exists, but there is a bit less overt discrimination against queer ppl as there is in our world, things like platonic marriage and polyamory are a bit less "niche," etc, and a violent approach to queer ppl is generally considered to be fuckin stupid

Different communities celebrate pride at different times of their local year, and what exactly they're celebrating differs with it. The core ofc is Queer Identity, but the focus besides varies: community, acceptance, love, perseverence, history. The pride celebrated by Tenno and their allied factions takes place during early summer by Earth timekeeping (the timekeeping all Tenno relays use and various allied colonies at the v least keep track of besides their own local time) and has an emphasis on community and diversity, whereas for example the Ostron observe the Tenno pride as a smaller event and have their own bigger one during March.

As for other factions:

The Corpus celebrate pride at the same time as the tenno for Relevance but it's almost entirely a corporate thing. A lot of Corpus defectors are shocked to learn that outside of their birth faction, pride isn't in fact about how much your superiors pretend to care about your feelings, or putting rainbow flags on the orb mothers patrolling the Vallis.

The Grineer just…don't. At all. As a society they don't really have a concept of queer identity in general, and pride is just a foreign culture thing even to those who defect. Some end up picking it up once allied with the Tenno, others remain indifferent.

Some of the Orokin had the same rainbow capitalism approach that the Corpus have since perfected, while others looked upon the pride celebrations with disdain, but seldom did any of them participate. What did non-Orokin have to be proud of? What identity was there for them to celebrate? Please, it's ridiculous.

You know the big banners hung up on Tenno relays? Some of those get swapped for pride flags for the celebration. Marches are still a thing, space and peace permitting, but not the end all, be all: the core event differs from culture to culture and location to location. Marches yes, but also picnics, feasts, dances, faires, whatever you could think of. The throughline is the pride flags, the celebration of queerness, and community

It takes ppl a bit of getting used to, to see warframes out and about during pride celebrations. What are the war machines doing participating in pride? But as more of them wake, as they become more of a common sight, as the truth about the Tenno eventually spreads among their allies, ppl get more used to them. Not just at pride, but any festival in general

Also I'm canonising my pride syandanas. Warframes wearing decorative armour and cloth in the colours of pride flags. Body paint is also popular among them. By nature most of them refuse to settle for small accessories, at the v least outside of combat

The first pride the group experience post-Awakening comes before TNW still so it's only Kohlrabi, Alden, Keiko, Lanius, and ofc Ordis at the time. The kids are all for it, especially Kohlrabi, and Lanius is really excited to take them down to Strata Relay about it to meet up with Hako and see the festivities kick off for the month, while Alden is more subdued about it (he's too busy repressing happy memories from his old life to really get excited)

The second one is post-TNW and once everyone is already around :)

Okay this is where i devolve into more disconnected points

North…forgot, that pride is a thing, during their time in Duviri, and is eventually reminded of it. They've always viewed themself as genderless, but haven't thought about their identity beyond that since before the Zariman, having had no care for it as a kid and then no spare brainspace as a prisoner in their own world. It's only after getting out and having the peace to Think that they settle into "aroace" and it makes their first pride in their remembered life exciting for them

Alden and Kodiak celebrated pride with their rebel group back in the day, about a halfway split between queer stuff and community. Once they both start reconciling with their past properly, they have traditions and stories they can bring along into the present. Alden's second pride as a conscious warframe is a lot better than his first

The homebase of Darius and his family (technically a clan dojo but it is never referred to as such for Reasons) is decked out in flags for pride and every year there's a few they forget to take down. Darius is gay as hell and loves pride and is very very excited about it while Tekla's identity is largely "do not perceive me" but they like pride nonetheless bc of the emphasis on being comfortable with who you are, where you are. Mae is the no1 project leader for decorating

Okay this is where i ran out of steam, I hope this is sufficient for now D:

[mundanemiseries]

@lunarshined : 

Lei is just going to take hold of kokos shirt and pull him directly before their face. “Happy pride month my favorite gay.” And kisses him square on the lips.

  The boy squeaked softly, arms moving to wrap around the other as he melted into the kiss. The concept of the month had been lost on him when he first arrived, modern day events and whatnot lost by his time, things like gender, sexuality being seen as things that just....were by his era.

  He's come to understand in time, however.

❝  hmmm, happy pride month t' ya too Lei.  ❞

  The tenno chuckled softly, moving to kiss them softly on the cheek.

❝  ...t' m' favourite gay an' th' prettiest I know.  ❞

[shad0w-elemental]

happy pride month! <3

ft. the operator trio

[milui87]

Beloved

This is my pic for pride month!   In the center I have night and day and my two favo ships at the moment. Of course my dear erasermic and the other two are Flover Nakamura and Luke Bible from the Neon Birds Book series. Flover Nakamura and Luke Bible: I loved the books and the two characters... I was looking for references for the two couples and found a pic with an old VW bus and... after finally reading the final book of the series I could see the both of them repairing an old one and driving through the world together. Oh an the chicken! I loved the chicken. it's name is Greta and really really great. You should check it out: Neon Birds, Cyber Trips and Beta Hearts from Marie Graßhoff. Erasermic: Back to Erasermic - no secret I love this ship. So I thought of a quiet moment for the two pro heros at work. Can be before the have to go to work or they both came just home and... need a moment to just breath. I like it   __

Two my little pride flag hearts - the first row are my beloved ships of my series, books and animes. The second row below... is a tribut to the communities of the ships. I don't ship those paitings but I love the artworks: all your pics, comics and storys - I have so much fun with it - so pleeeease keep it up 

1st row: red: Albus Dumbledore X Gellert Grindelwald | grindeldore | Wizarding World orange: Shoyo Hinata X Tobio Kageyama | kagehina | Haikyuu! yellow: Haruka Tenno X Michiru Kaiou | HaruMichi | Sailor Moon green: Haruki Nakayama X Akihiko Kaji | AkiHaru | Given blue: Victor Nikiforov X Yuuri Katsuki | victuuri | Yuri!!! on Ice purple: Alec Lightwood X Magnus Bane | Malec | Shadowhunters 2nd row: red: Tetsurō Kuroo X Kenma Kozume | kuroken | Haikyuu! orange: Hawks X Endevor | EndHawks | Boku no Hero Academia yellow: Shoto Todoroki X Katsuki Bakugou | TodoBaku | Boku no Hero Academia green: Sanji Vinsmoke X Lorenor Zorro | ZoSan | One Piece blue: Rouge Cheney X Sting Eucliffe | Stingue | Fairy Tail purple: Tamaki Amajiki X Mirio Togata | MiriTama | Boku no Hero Academia Hope you like it - Happy pride month!

https://www.deviantart.com/milui87/art/Beloved-883361066?ga_submit_new=10%3A1624309616&ga_type=edit&ga_changes=1

[lgbten-0]

you can buy the Pride color palette in the warframe market for 1credit \o/

so for the rest of the month i’m using my newfound MR30 powers to show my Excalibur Pride in the Strata relay everyday

happy pride Tenno

[almosthumanophelia]

Tenno Ophelia

Backstory and Overview

// I decided to finally make a (coherent) post detailing Ophelia's history and origin story as a Tenno. I've discussed it a bit on this blog before, but a few things have changed, and I wanted to really get it all down. Some facts and the exact timeline may differ somewhat from the canon in-game Tenno; I don't really consider this an AU, just a thing to keep in mind. Feel free to spread this around or offer some thoughts, asks and feedback are always welcome. Story time!

Ophelia was born to well-off parents, both computer scientists and engineers, and some of the best in their field. They lived in the middle tiers of Orokin society, and had a similar level of standing as the high ranks of the modern Corpus.

Her father focused on the hardware side of things; her mother, the software. Though they were trusted with many projects, they were best known for their work with Cephalons. They instilled an early love of Cephalons in their infant daughter, who began to have conversations with the geometric holographic projections almost as soon as she could speak.

One day, the pair got an offer - or rather, an order disguised as an offer - to travel to the Tau system aboard the Zariman. They would be chief engineers for the ship's more complex systems, and assist in establishing the technological aspects of the new colony once they arrived. They had no close family, and nobody they trusted to take in their daughter. Because they would be gone for years, they had no choice but to bring her along as well. Ophelia embarked on the mission with her parents when she was just three years old.

The disaster that followed was well documented in classified Orokin records. Ophelia's father was the first to succumb to the madness. Her mother held on long enough to get their child to safety, hiding her in a cargo storage area, locking the door, and scrambling the door codes so that when she eventually gave in as well, she would be unable to enter.

The plan worked, but at a cost. The cargo area was not as well shielded from radiation and Void energy. Ophelia was left exposed, and suffered severe Void energy burns. They scarred nearly her entire body, leaving twisted, blackened marks over every part of skin they touched. Some of the other children could hear her screams of pain and terror, even from corridors away. She would not be extracted and treated until the Orokin recovered the ship. Although her exact memories of events were always fuzzy, the emotions and sensations she experienced stayed with her long after her rescue.

The traumatized toddler was very quiet, and often refused to speak at all. When she did, it was typically out of fear of being left alone and abandoned once more. The Void scarring left her physically weakened, and often suffering from pains and aches. Orokin experiments and probes to try and determine the full effects of Void energy were exceptionally painful for her. Often, anyone who attempted to treat her was subject to severe injuries and burns from outbursts of energy. But unlike most of the other Tenno, Ophelia's outbursts were deliberate. She learned to harness her power early as a defense mechanism.

The Orokin were left with a child who was volatile, traumatized, violent, and a selectively mute amnesiac - but one who was exceptionally powerful. They weren't willing (or, really, able) to dispose of her, but she needed a permanent guardian. Margulis, who had taken the Tenno on as her charges, soon noticed a pattern in the girl's behavior. Though she shunned human contact, she still whispered to the facility Cephalons, often late at night when she was supposed to be sleeping.

At the age of five, Ophelia was given her first and only Cephalon: a fairly recent Series Two by the name of Cephalon Ordis, whose sole standing order was her care and well-being. The two hit it off, and were soon inseparable. When she talked to her Cephalon, she became more personable, happy, and open. Eventually, slowly, Ophelia began to open up to the other children once again, though she still kept them at arms' length.

Then Margulis vanished, and Ophelia's fears of abandonment flared up once more. She clung to Ordis more tightly than ever. Her bond with him had evolved beyond Cephalon and master; they were much more akin to parent and child. Ordis was her sole support system as she was ushered into the role of child warrior, under Ballas's direction. When she eventually learned that Margulis had been killed, her upset over the situation, combined with how poorly she herself had been treated in the past, began to turn into a burning hatred of the Orokin. It was a hate she would carry the rest of her life.

Ophelia's first and favorite Warframe was a Volt, one that matched her volatile, fragile, but highly dangerous and powerful nature. She became known for quick, ruthless strikes, slaughtering the enemy before they had a chance to react. The bloody scenes of battle were cathartic to the girl, and helped her deal with her trauma and loss. She took a certain amount of pride in being good at what she did, trained hard, and soon was considered to be on par with the Orokin mercenaries of old. Missions were never a source of conflict or moral crisis for her; she did her job and did it well, and she grew up killing for a cause.

When the time came to turn on the Orokin, she saw it as a way to make them pay for what they had done. She moved against them without hesitation and without mercy, falling perfectly in line with Natah and the Sentients' plan. However, she would not go into cryosleep willingly, and be separated from her beloved Ordis. She had to be put to sleep, and never got a chance to explain or say farewell. She was thirteen.

Over a hundred years later, she was awake once more, and on missions once again - this time, following the guidance of the Lotus, though much more loosely than she had under the Orokin. She viewed the Lotus as more of a battle commander than a mother, but she still carried a certain respect and affection for her. Reunited with Ordis and feeling free for the first time in her life, Ophelia displayed a real sense of spunk and humor in her work, though she often acted outside the bounds of her orders. Other Tenno grew to knew her as something of a rebellious wild card.

Ophelia's skills aside from warrior and mercenary work included hacking and programming, something she inherited from her parents. She was always exceptional when it came to working with tech, and was never shy about showing that off. However, memories of the parents she inherited her skill from, as well as those of her life before the Zariman, would forever elude her. What little she had, had been permanently corrupted by her long cryosleep. She was now only a Tenno, and nothing else. Ophelia could not even remember her own last name. Meanwhile, aches and pains would forever continue to plague her, even as she grew a bit more physically strong. Nightmares and night terrors were more symptoms left over from her younger days; the only one ever able to calm her during one of these episodes was Ordis.

Upon uncovering fragments of Ordis's memory that revealed his past to her, Ophelia was shocked. She saw the parallels in their life stories, and carried a deep gratitude to the Cephalon that had looked after her so faithfully. After a bit of coaxing and coding backdoors, she spoke directly to the part of Ordis that was still faithful to his roots as Ordan. He admitted that he had not seen her as a punishment for a very long time, and they came to an understanding that their familial affection for each other was genuine and mutual. Her training from that point onward began to focus more on emulating Ordan's battle style. Eventually, Ophelia would adopt the last name Karris as a tribute to the man she considered her true father.

[sciencespies]

Twelve Anniversaries and Events Worth Traveling for in 2020

https://sciencespies.com/history/twelve-anniversaries-and-events-worth-traveling-for-in-2020/

Twelve Anniversaries and Events Worth Traveling for in 2020

SMITHSONIANMAG.COM | Jan. 24, 2020, 1:50 p.m.

What better way to kick off a new decade than by planning a trip? If you’re hoping to fill the next ten years by seeing new sights, learning about other cultures, taking in history or relaxing on an endless white-sand beach, Smithsonian magazine has curated a list of destinations worth considering for 2020. Some will host once-in-a-lifetime athletic competitions (Tokyo and the Summer Olympics), others boast world-class art exhibitions (Rome and New York City) and still others allow visitors to experience wonders of the natural world (El Morro, New Mexico, or Ilha Grande and Paraty, Brazil). Read on, and happy traveling.

Japan’s new 68,000-seat National Stadium, designed by the architect Kengo Kuma.

(Arne Müseler via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 3.0 DE)

In 1964, Tokyo became the first city in Asia to host the Olympics, and this summer, the Japanese capital will serve as the summer Games’ venue once again. With the 2020 Olympics (July 24-August 9, followed by the Paralympics August 25-September 6) comes a brand-new, $1.43-billion main stadium built with timber from each of Japan’s 47 prefectures as well as five new sporting events: skateboarding, baseball and softball, surfing, sports climbing (think lightning-quick, spider-like wall-scaling—here’s a video) and karate.

Even without a coveted Olympics ticket—the Wall Street Journal recently forecasted that a Tokyo seat “looks like the toughest Olympic ticket ever”—Japan’s biggest metropolis has plenty to offer tourists: the bustle of Harajuku shopping district, the crowded-but-orderly Shibuya Crossing, conveyer-belt sushi restaurants, the traditional izakayas that line “Piss Alley,” a fashion exhibit at the National Art Center, views from 2,000 feet up in the Tokyo Skytree and the animated film company Studio Ghibli’s headquarters. 2020 also marks the centennial of Meiji Jingu, a mid-city oasis (volunteers planted 100,000 donated trees that have grown towering in the intervening century) and active Shinto shrine dedicated to a former imperial couple. Meiji-Tenno-Sai, the memorial day of Emperor Meiji, falls on July 30, during the Olympics; the 19th- and 20th-century monarch will be commemorated in a Shinto ceremony, and the affiliated Treasure Museum will waive its usual entry fee. In November, the three-day autumn festival at Meiji Jingu takes place. Expect to see traditional Noh theater, sumo, horseback archery and more.

Tokyo’s first time hosting the Olympics was intended to be 1940, but World War II disrupted those plans, and it’s that global conflict that led to another anniversary this year: 75 years have passed since the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The first (and only) use of nuclear weapons in war, the attacks killed an estimated 275,000 people. This devastating event for Japan is commemorated at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, where a permanent exhibit lays out the belongings of many who died in the strike. The memorial itself—known as the Genbaku Dome—has been preserved exactly as the one-time exhibition hall looked in the immediate aftermath of the bombing. In the port city of Nagasaki, feel the weight of this history at the Atomic Bomb Museum and nearby memorial, the Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Park, where a lone column pinpoints the spot above which the bomb burst. Both cities are accessible by a combination of shinkansen—bullet trains that debuted for the 1964 Olympics—and express trains.

(Corey Templeton via Flickr under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

On March 15, 1820, Maine separated from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and became the nation’s 23rd state. As a part of the Missouri Compromise, Maine joined the union as a free state, while Missouri entered it as a slave state, maintaining the balance between free and slave states in the nation. Now, Maine’s hosting a year-long birthday bash, commemorating 200 years of statehood.

Leading the state’s official commemoration is the Maine Bicentennial Commission, a group of politicians, curators, historians, educators and others organizing a series of events and offering grants to communities throughout the state looking to stage parades, lectures and exhibitions. Among the grant winners is Rockland’s Center for Maine Contemporary Art, which is presenting an exhibition this summer of photographer S.B. Walker’s visual record of contemporary life in Maine. On Statehood Day, March 15, the public is invited to musical performances and speeches—and to enjoy a slice of cake—in the Augusta Armory. The commission will also hold a Bicentennial Parade in Auburn-Lewiston on May 16, that promises to be chock full of state pride. Kicking off in Boothbay Harbor on June 26, the traveling Tall Ships Festival brings a month of dockside activities, such as concerts, fireworks and community races, as it makes stops in Rockland, Bangor, Brewer, Bucksport, Castine, Searsport and Belfast.

To soak up more of the state’s history, head to some of its many landmarks. Sitting atop the Munjoy Hill in Portland is the oldest maritime signal tower in the United States. Built in 1807, the Portland Observatory was tasked with sending signals to ships entering the harbor, but today, it offers visitors spectacular views of the city during spring months, when it is open for visitors. The Italianate Villa-style Victoria Mansion, in Portland’s Arts District, was built in 1860 as a summer house for wealthy hotel magnate and Maine native Ruggles Sylvester Morse. Opening its doors for the season in May, visitors can experience this national historical landmark with all its luxurious staircases and chandeliers.

One of the Raphael Rooms in the Vatican Museums in Vatican City.

(Juergen Ritterbach / Alamy)

Home to a rich history of classical art, Rome should be a destination on every art lover’s map. Among the artists that fell in love with the city, decorating its walls and chapels with masterpieces, is Raphael—a member of the great trio of High Renaissance art including Leonardo and Michelangelo. To honor the legacy Raphael built in Rome, the city is commemorating the 500th anniversary of his death throughout the year. The Ministry of Culture has organized a mega-exhibition, simply titled “Raphael,” at the Scuderie del Quirinale (March 5-June 2, 2020) that will feature more than 200 of Raphael’s pieces, including the famous Madonna del Granduca (1506-1507) and La Donna Valata (1512-1515). Jointly organized with the Uffizi, which provided over 40 works, the exhibition will include masterpieces never before seen together, on loan from Paris’ Louvre, London’s National Gallery and Madrid’s Prado among others. The celebrations of the artist are not limited to Italy, however; the National Gallery in London is running an exhibition from October 3, 2020 until January 24, 2021 that explores Raphael’s career through his masterpieces.

To fully experience Raphael’s artistic mastery, visit the four rooms in the Vatican Museums, filled with graceful portraits and ornate frescoes, that he and others in his workshop painted between 1508 and 1524. With religious themes and brilliant details, these rooms are the epitome of Italian high renaissance. Another destination that should not be missed is the ancient Pantheon in Rome—inspired by its beautiful architecture, Raphael requested it to be the place of his eternal rest. This spectacular temple has stood for over 2,000 years, and it is one of the best-preserved monuments of Ancient Rome.

Paraty and Ilha Grande, Brazil

Colorful doors in the colonial town of Paraty on Brazil’s coast.

(Christoph Diewald via Flickr under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

One of UNESCO’s newest World Heritage sites lies on the Brazilian coast between Rio and São Paulo. Paraty, population 43,000, was a port town once critical to the gold and slave trades, and it retains much of its 18th-century colonial architecture and cobblestone streets, making it “one of the best preserved colonial coastal towns in Brazil,” according to UNESCO. Trek up the Morro da Vila Velha hill to see archaeological sites, the first European settlement from the mid-16th century, as well as a fort built two centuries later.

The UNESCO-designated site also includes four nearby protected areas, famed for their biodiversity, that are home to jaguars, a myriad of rainforest frogs and mustachioed, pig-like mammals known as white-lipped peccaries. Travelers can relax on the undeveloped Lopes Mendes beach (for the outdoorsy, you can even hike from a nearby village to this sandy destination) on the island of Ilha Grande or kayak through mangroves near Paraty. Serra da Bocaina National Park, meanwhile, attests to the region’s history with a portion of the paved gold route, or Caminho do Ouro, and the ruins of a building devoted to weighing and taxing that gold.

About 12 miles from Paraty is the Quilombo Campinho da Independência. Quilombos are settlements, often in remote areas, founded by people who escaped slavery. This particular quilombo has a restaurant serving African-influenced Brazilian food as well as a handicraft shop. In the restaurant’s lounge, groups can listen as old and young quilombonas share their experiences (the conversations are translated into English or Spanish) in a “storytelling wheel.”

The capitol building in Nashville, where the 19th Amendment secured Tennessee’s crucial vote to adopt it into the Constitution.

(Jelle Drok via Flickr under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Nashville earned the moniker “Music City” for a reason, but the Tennessee capital made our list not for its fantastic music scene but because Nashville is where the decisive and dramatic vote to add the 19th Amendment—women’s suffrage—to the Constitution took place. Three quarters of the states needed to sign onto the 19th Amendment for it to be ratified, and in August 1920, Tennessee became the crucial 36th state. A young state legislator, Harry T. Burn, switched political sides following a persuasive letter from his mother and cast a tie-breaking vote in favor of suffrage.

A spate of performances and special exhibitions will mark the centennial. On March 27, the Tennessee State Museum will open an 8,000-square-foot exhibition tracing the state’s suffrage movement from its early, post-Civil-War days to the final vote, while the main Nashville Library is hosting its own “Votes for Women” exhibit, showcasing political cartoons and plenty of kid-friendly interactives. One block away, the opulent Hermitage Hotel, once the epicenter of pro- and anti-suffrage lobbying, displays objects from the political fracas, including a telegram congratulating famous suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt, who stayed at the hotel, on the victory.

Music lovers can also add suffrage-themed performances to the itinerary (along with Nashville classics like the Grand Ole Opry or Bluebird Café). In September, the Nashville Symphony will stage the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe’s new suffrage-inspired work, played and sung by an all women’s chorus and full orchestra. On August 2, the Nashville Opera will put on a one-night-only event where talented local vocalists sing songs, like “Since My Margarette Became a Suffragette” and “She’s Good Enough To Be Your Baby’s Mother and She’s Good Enough To Vote With You,” used to fight for (and against) women’s right to vote. Nashville Ballet, later this year, will premiere 72 Steps, a newly choreographed work named for the number of steps to the Nashville capitol building that recounts the struggle for suffrage in Tennessee. For visual arts aficionados, the Frist Art Museum will display locally-made artwork inspired by Nashville residents’ personal stories about their first times voting.

Star trails above Inscription Rock in El Morro National Monument.

(NPS: Derek Wallentinsen)

Interested in seeing the Milky Way? Away from city lights, El Morro National Monument, about a two hour drive west of Albuquerque, offers a spectacular view of stars, galaxies and planets. In fact, the International Dark Sky Association recently named El Morro an International Dark Sky Park—a recognition that allows the park to host more astronomy-based educational programming and improve its energy efficiency through outdoor lighting upgrades.

Made even more awe-inspiring by a starry backdrop, the monument is an impressive record of more than 2,000 inscriptions dating back 1,000 years—petroglyphs carved by Ancestral Puebloans and signatures of Spanish settlers and later pioneers—on a 200-foot tall sandstone cliff. If the next couple events on the park’s calendar are any indication of what’s in store, there will be presentations on the hidden colors of the night sky, tours of the constellations and opportunities for visitors to observe these phenomenon for themselves through a telescope. The summer months, with warmer weather and greater visibility, will allow for even more activities, including a celebration of the Dark Sky Park certification.

Nelson Mandela’s capture site.

(Darren Glanville via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Africa’s southernmost country will commemorate two anniversaries tied to the apartheid era and the political struggle that ultimately ended apartheid and made South Africa a democracy. Thirty years ago, in 1990, anti-apartheid activist and African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela—at the time, arguably the world’s most famous political prisoner—became a free man after serving 27 years of a lifetime prison sentence for “sabotage” against the government. Mandela’s release in combination with a number of other events ultimately steered South Africa to its first democratic elections—open to South Africans of all ethnicities—in 1994, through which Mandela became president.

Spots that honor Mandela’s life and legacy crisscross South Africa. Robben Island, where Mandela spent the bulk of his time in prison holed up in a 7-by-9-foot cell, offers four tours daily, and visitors have the opportunity to learn from guides with unique credentials—they were former Robben Island political prisoners themselves. In April, long-distance swimmers compete in the 4.6-mile “Freedom Swim” from Robben Island to the shores of Cape Town. A two-hour plane flight away in Johannesburg, the Apartheid Museum traces how the state came to sponsor the system of segregation starting in 1948 and then, nearly 50 years later, dismantle it. (It also boasts an exhibition about the life of the man many South Africans call Tata—“father” in Xhosa—Mandela.) The roadside site near coastal Durban where police captured Mandela in 1962 is now marked with a remarkable steel-bar sculpture depicting the leader’s face in profile; upgrades to make the destination more tourist-friendly will be completed by August 2020.

2020 also marks 60 years since the Sharpeville massacre, when police opened fire on thousands of people peacefully protesting pass laws, which required black South Africans to carry identifying documents and limited where they could work or live. Police killed 69 and injured more than 180 people at the protest, sparking national and international outcry; Nelson Mandela and other African National Congress. leaders burned their own passes. March 21, the day of the tragedy, is now Human Rights Day in South Africa. Constitution Hill, a prison-complex-turned-museum in Johannesburg, will mark the occasion with a four-day Human Rights Festival with panel discussions, social-justice-related visual art and photography exhibits, performances, a human rights book fair and a groundbreaking for the Museum and Archive of the Constitution at the Hill, which the Huffington Post reports will document “the making of the South African Constitution—from its African origins in the fight against colonialism, segregation and apartheid until the present.” Visitors to the Constitution Hill museums can, as always, visit the cell Mandela stayed at while imprisoned at Old Fort and learn about the people who were held in inhumane conditions at the Women’s Jail and Number Four (where Mahatma Gandhi was once held behind bars).

During Prohibition, Green Mill was favorite speakeasy of mobsters like Al Capone, who the band would greet with a rendition of “Rhapsody in Blue.”

(Bruce Yuanyue Bi / Alamy)

On January 17, 1920, the Prohibition Act officially took effect, stipulating that “no person shall manufacture, sell, barter, transport, import, export, deliver, furnish or possess any intoxicating liquor except as authorized by this act.” With it came the nation’s “worst-kept secret”—the speakeasy. Now, 100 years later, the public is still fascinated by these illicit establishments where men and women gathered to drink bootlegged alcohol and listen to jazz.

By 1924, Chicago had a network of some 20,000 speakeasies. Given this high concentration, the city has become a popular destination for delving into Prohibition history. The Original Chicago Prohibition Tour takes people to the era’s most popular watering holes, while another option, the Chicago Prohibition Gangster Tour, caters to those more interested in the rise in gang activity and mob crimes during Prohibition—making stops at the site of the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and the location where notorious gangster and bank robber John Dillinger was killed.

Illinois is also celebrating the 100th birthday of one of its most famous authors this year, Ray Bradbury. The sci-fi author recently made news when the New York Public Library released a list of the most checked out books of all time—his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 ranked number seven. Born in Waukegan, Illinois, on August 22, 1920, Bradbury wrote upwards of 30 books and nearly 600 short stories in his lifetime. When he died in 2012, the New York Times declared him “the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream.” Set to open in August 2020 in Waukegan, the Ray Bradbury Experience Museum will educate the public on the sci-fi author’s life and honor his work with immersive and interactive experiences that interpret his creative works.

Palau’s 183,000-square-mile National Marine Sanctuary is home to an abundance of coral and fish.

(Yuichiro Anazawa via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY 3.0)

Travelers arriving in Palau, a freckling of islands in the western reaches of the Pacific Ocean, sign a pledge: “I vow to tread lightly, act kindly and explore mindfully,” reads the passport stamp. “The only footprints I shall leave are those that will wash away.” The statement, adopted in 2017, reflects the dive destination’s environment-first attitude.

In 2020, after five years of work, Palau’s new National Marine Sanctuary went into effect, protecting 183,000 square miles or nearly 80 percent of the tiny country’s waters from commercial fishing. The marine sanctuary is intended to protect Palau’s 1,300-plus species of fish and 700 types of coral but will not dictate where tourists can visit, a representative from the Stanford Ocean Center, which helped create a report for the Palau government on the planned sanctuary, assured Smithsonian. The country also became the first in the world to ban types of sunscreen (about half of the commercially available options, according to the BBC) that contain ingredients known to bleach coral.

Palau’s reputation as an “underwater Serengeti” is warranted; adventurers can snorkel alongside gentle, non-stinging golden jellyfish in the aptly-named Jellyfish Lake, marvel at the giant clam inhabitants of Clam City, or (for experienced divers) spot reef sharks at the Blue Corner. The Rock Islands—uninhabited, vegetation-shrouded outcroppings that are a haven for nearly 400 coral species—are also well worth a visit. The 445 mushroom-shaped islands were proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012.

While the majority of tourists partake in the nation’s aquatic attractions, the islands have offerings for landlubbers too. On Babeldaob, the largest island, travelers can hike through the jungle to the thundering Ngardmau Waterfall—the highest in Micronesia. World War II buffs might want to tour Peleliu, an island where rusty plane wrecks and weapons attest to a fierce 1944 battle between the U.S. and Japan over its airstrip.

(Dumphasizer via Flickr under CC BY-SA 2.0)

In 1620, the Mayflower embarked on a voyage from Plymouth, England to the New World. Upon arrival on the shores of what is now Provincetown, Massachusetts, the pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact—a governing document believed by many to have been an early influence for the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. After spending five weeks exploring the area, the colonists sailed across Cape Cod Bay to Plymouth, where they established the Plymouth Colony.

To mark the 400th anniversary of these events, celebrations will be held on both sides of the Atlantic. Plymouth, England, is organizing a multitude of events, from a Mayflower Ceremony on September 16 (the date of the ship’s departure four centuries ago) to a “Mayflower 400: Legend and Legacy” exhibition at The Box, a new museum opening this spring. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum (PMPM) has organized a series of commemoration activities, kicking off with an opening ceremony on April 24 in Plymouth and featuring a historical reenactment of the signing of the Mayflower Compact on September 13 on Provincetown’s MacMillan Pier. Provincetown 400, as the series is called, aims to retell the history of Plymouth Colony from both perspectives, the Mayflower Pilgrims and the Wampanoag nation.

As a part of the 400th anniversary celebration, Mayflower II, a full-scale reproduction of the sailing vessel that carried the English colonists in 1620, will sail from Plymouth, where it sits as an exhibit in the Plimoth Plantation, to Provincetown, Massachusetts, on September 10, 2020. “We expect thousands to come to Provincetown to visit Mayflower II and to learn about the beginning of the Pilgrims’ story,” said Dr. K. David Weidner, executive director of the PMPM.

The Beethoven House in Bonn, Germany.

(Thomas Depenbusch via Flickr under CC BY 2.0)

Widely known as the City of Beethoven, Bonn is pulling out all the stops for the 250th anniversary of the classical composer’s birth. Born in 1770 (his real birthday, still a matter of speculation, is believed to be a day before his recorded baptism on December 17), Ludwig van Beethoven lived in this German city until he moved to Vienna at age 22. The house where Beethoven was born and raised for the first few years of his life—known today as Beethoven Haus—is still standing and a popular attraction in the city. Built in the 18th century, the home recently underwent a 10-month long renovation and reopened in December, with its permanent exhibit including instruments, scores and notebooks used by the composer.

The Beethoven Anniversary Society have planned BTHVN2020, a year-long calendar of concerts and tributes across Germany dedicated to the life and achievements of the composer. An estimated 1,000 performances and events are taking place between now and December 17, 2020 in Germany, with the majority of them happening in Bonn. The two-day “Beethoven Bürgfest,” beginning August 14, 2020, will trace Beethoven’s life in Bonn, feature musical performances and remember the 1845 unveiling of the bronze Beethoven monument in Bonn’s city center. The year of celebration will close with a concert held in Bonn’s parliament building, as a tribute to the political significance of the composer’s work—the European Union anthem is based on “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

The Met’s famous 5th Avenue entrance.

(Courtesy of the Met)

New York City’s most visited museum—the Metropolitan Museum of Art—is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its incorporation and very first acquisition, a Roman sarcophagus. Both events occurred four short years after lawyer John Jay first floated the idea to a circle of American friends while in Paris and wooed philanthropists and art collectors to support his fledgling museum. While the sesquicentennial doesn’t mean the Met Gala is opening to the public, the museum is hosting a “community festival” with tours and to-be-announced performances and art-making activities the weekend of June 4-6. The “Making The Met, 1870-2020” exhibition (March 30-August 2) will highlight gems of the Met’s vast (it spans 5,000-plus years of art) collection, including rarely-displayed, fragile works like Michelangelo’s studies for the Sistine Chapel’s Libyan Sibyl, a female figure painted on the ceiling fresco. In March, the museum will open 11,000 square feet of gallery space showcasing British decorative arts (think carefully crafted teapots) from the 16th to 20th centuries. And as usual, the Met’s rotation of exhibits will showcase art from around the globe, including early Buddhist art made in India, Cubist paintings and Tudor-era masterworks.

The Met sits in Central Park, which is where the first New York City Marathon was held 50 years ago, with 127 participants who’d paid the $1 entry fee. Less than half of them finished. Last year, 53,627 runners took part in the 26.2-mile run, now spanning all five of the Big Apple’s boroughs. Even non-runners can enjoy the race’s 50th anniversary this year (November 1) by joining the crowds that cheer, sometimes rowdily, the endurance athletes on. (Here’s a list of the best cheering spots, courtesy the New York Times; apparently, there’s even a Baptist church whose choir sings for marathoners at full volume.)

#History